'My wrongful arrest': Native journalist doubles down on defense in drunken driving case

Monday, April 22, 2019  

Jenni Monet, the award-winning Native journalist who has been hit with criminal charges in New Mexico, doubled down on claims of being victimized by law enforcement even as authorities sought her arrest last week.

Reached by Indianz.Com on Friday, Monet declined to comment about the arrest warrant that was issued after she allegedly failed to comply with the conditions of her release. According to a document filed in court two days prior, she tested positive for alcohol use and missed some of the alcohol tests required of her.

The next day, a judge in Santa Fe County Court took action. "A bench warrant has been issued for your arrest," a letter sent to Monet on Thursday reads.

"This means you could be arrested and jailed at any time without further notice to you," it continues.

The bench warrant, also issued Thursday, commands law enforcement in New Mexico -- and only in that state -- to arrest Monet, whose surname is Monette. It further directs her to be held "without bond" once she is detained.

But as of Friday evening, Monet was a free woman. She spoke to Indianz.Com on the phone from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she was dealing with the fallout of her criminal case on a prominent journalism fellowship at Marquette University.

Reiterating plans to mount a vigorous defense to charges of aggravated driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest, the Pueblo of Laguna citizen promised to release a statement. A few hours later, she apologized to Indian Country and to the "greater journalism community" for what she said was her "wrongful arrest and detainment" earlier this month.

"It is not lost on me the irony of how I am often writing and discussing the crisis for Native Americans overcoming chronic negativity in the news media -- and yet, here, I have contributed to it," Monet said in the statement, which she sent to Indianz.Com in addition to posting on her Facebook page.

Referencing the arrest on the evening of April 5, video of which shows her lashing out at police officers with profane language, she wrote: "To every parent or grandparent raising Indigenous girls and boys, I wish I could wish that night away."

"And as I stand in my truth, I look forward to seeing those of you on the other side of this storm who are brave and courageous enough to understand that what happened on 4/5 is a story not about belligerent drinking but rather legitimate outrage in how quickly and persistently brown women like me are disbelieved, gaslighted and presented with microaggressions at seemingly every turn," she continued.

Monet has vowed to mount a "vigorous defense" to a charge of aggravated driving while under the influence and a charge of resisting, evading or obstructing an officer. A statement from her attorney follows:

— indianz.com (@indianz) April 20, 2019

According to Monet and her defense team, the incident in New Mexico's capital city was rooted in race from the start. She was the one who called officers to the scene after a liquor store refused to sell her items that she had intended to purchase as "gifts for friends," her attorney said in a separate statement.

"Officers did not arrive until nearly 45 minutes later, during which time she was distraught and humiliated by the situation," her attorney said. "Expecting assistance from the officers, Ms. Monette was instead placed under arrest without justification, and officers charged her with offenses for which they do not have evidence or legal support."

In a statement of probable cause filed in court four days later, the responding officer said Monet "advised that she was denied service at the store due to discrimination." However, no mention was made in the document whether she contacted law enforcement after being refused service for what she believed were racially-motivated reasons.

Instead, the court was told that the officer was responding to a call of disorderly conduct made by the owner of the store, whose staff refused to sell Monet liquor "because they believed she was drunk."

But Monet adamantly denies being intoxicated. "I had not been drinking. I had not been drinking," she said during an appearance on the In The Thick podcast that was posted last Tuesday.

Great to be back @InTheThickShow with @Maria_Hinojosa and @julito77 discussing today's headlines from a POC POV including my recent arrest (scroll: 25:45). @Brentinmock's commentary is everything. So grateful for this support during a really tough time ❤️ https://t.co/lZcHkAmn6G

— Jenni Monet (@jennimonet) April 17, 2019

A portion of the audio from the arrest was played on the podcast, which focuses on issues of race, identity and politics. In it, the responding officer can be heard telling Monet that he smelled alcohol on her breath and that her eyes were "bloodshot and watery."

Monet told the officer that she had been crying and, in the podcast, she expanded on her mental and physical state at the time. "I had been crying and the reason why I had been crying is because I had just gotten a hurtful email from an industry colleague," she said.

Surveillance footage from inside the liquor store was obtained by KRQE News 13. It shows Monet engaged in a confrontation at the checkout counter, though no audio -- if any -- was broadcast by the television station.

"I got upset and I had kind of just met my limit," she said on the podcast, alluding to the way she reacted after being denied service.

While in the parking lot of the store, Monet refused to participate in field sobriety tests before she was arrested, according to the statement of probable cause. She also refused to submit to a breath test after being taken to the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility, the document states.

Under New Mexico's “implied consent” law, any person who operates a vehicle is considered to have consented to a breath or blood test . Anyone who refuses to submit to such a test is typically charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated.

After her arrest on a Friday night, Monet wasn't released until the following Sunday evening, according to detention records, which caused her to miss a previously scheduled appearance at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture earlier in the day. The event was canceled "due to a personal emergency" but no specifics were offered at the time.

But as she was being released, Monet signed an order in which she agreed not to "possess or consume alcohol or enter liquor establishments." She also was required to use Soberlink, a hand-held device that measures a person's blood alcohol level and transmits the results via a cellular network, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported.

"Soberlink will ensure defendant complies with the court's prohibition on alcohol consumption, Monet's order of release, dated April 7, reads.

During her arraignment on the morning of April 10, Monet was given permission to leave the state -- as long as she continued to use the Soberlink. That would have required her to submit to breath tests on a certain schedule, or when prompted to do so.

A week later, the device recorded her as testing positive for alcohol use, according to an incident form. The time-stamps on the document indicate that Monet was being prompted to submit to a breath test every 30 minutes or so.

In addition to testing positive for alcohol use five times on April 16, Monet "missed" two tests, according to the form. It was around dinner time in Milwaukee but she denied consuming any alcohol with her meal, the document reads.

"Jenni stated that all she had was a salad with a cesar vinagrette [sic] and nothing else," the form reads.

Most recipes for dressing on a Caesar-style salad do not call for alcohol as an ingredient.

On the other hand, a person of Monet's physical size -- she stands 5 foot 2 inches and weighs under 100 pounds, according to court records -- could see her blood alcohol content rise to the level initially recorded by the Soberlink (0.63) by drinking a glass or two of wine over the course of a one-hour dinner, according to an online calculator.

"I am seeking proper attention and care to manage during these difficult times," Monet said in her statement on Friday.

Monet is scheduled to appear in court on May 15 for pre-trial hearing, according to online records. The charge of aggravated driving while intoxicated is listed as her "1st" offense in New Mexico, the records show, though she was involved in a drunken driving case in neighboring Colorado about two decades ago, when she was in her 20s.

Should Monet go to trial and wind up being convicted or pleading guilty, she would face a mandatory minimum of 48 hours in jail for a 1st offense. She spent about that much time in the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility earlier this month.

Under New Mexico law, a crime of aggravated driving while intoxicated is more serious than one of merely driving while intoxicated and leads to harsher punishments.

I was arrested during the worst year on record for #WorldPressFreedom and now face a jury trial on June 1, 2018.

Without safe journalism there is no information.
Without information, there is no freedom.

Today and every day, stand for #PressFreedom! #JournalismIsNotACrime pic.twitter.com/GtVXzoV0Q9

— Jenni Monet (@jennimonet) May 3, 2018

Monet's case isn't her first high-profile encounter with law enforcement. In 2017, she was arrested in North Dakota and charged with criminal trespass and engaging in a riot while covering the #NoDAPL movement against the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline.

She won several awards for her work on the issue, including being named Journalist of the Year by the Newswomen's Club of New York in 2017. Then in June 2018, she was found not guilty of trespass after a jury trial in North Dakota, Native News Online reported at the time. The charge of engaging in a riot had previously been dropped by state prosecutors.

“Jenni’s courageous commitment to sharing the reality of the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in the face of adversity is an inspiration to all those fighting for journalistic rights, as well as those working to shine a light on the critical issues facing indigenous peoples in this country,” Oneida Nation Representative Ray Halbritter said in a statement after the trial. “The Oneida Indian Nation was proud to help Jenni defend her constitutional right to freedom of the press, and we are gratified that justice was served and she was found not guilty."

At the time, the Oneida Nation owned Indian Country Today Media Network, which carried some of Monet's dispatches from Standing Rock. The tribe subsequently donated the news outlet to the National Congress of American Indians, which relaunched it as Indian Country Today last year.

The Santa Fe Sheriff's Department blotter incident from Monet's arrest follows:

0219005630/Aggravated DUI, resisting evading obstructing an officer/4.5.19

Deputy Assigned: Blaine Lattin

Commander Entering: CPL. Jared Mosher

Suspect: Jenni Monette 42 Tucson AZ

Location: 903 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe

Deputies were dispatched to Cliff's Liquor Store on reference to a disorderly conduct where deputies made contact with the suspect seated inside her vehicle. A DWI investigation was initiated due to an odor of alcohol coming from the suspects breath. Suspect refused SFST's and resisted deputies as they placed her in handcuffs. The suspect refused to submit to a breath test she was booked.

Award-winning Native journalist arrested on charge of intoxicated driving (April 11, 2019)